


Waterlilies

by Babbling



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - School, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Boys In Love, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dating, Drowning, Fantasy elements, First Dates, Fluff, Holding Hands, Hugs, JunKwan, Love Confessions, M/M, Mystery, Mystical Creatures, Near Death Experiences, Neighbors, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Saving Each Other, Secret Crush, Siren Park Junhee, Sirens, Swimming Pools, Teen Crush, Winter, blue-haired Park Junhee, it's cute, kinda lmao, lake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:09:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26496934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babbling/pseuds/Babbling
Summary: Park Junhee is a mystery and Byeongkwan has always been weirdly intrigued by everything that appears unsolvable...
Relationships: Kim Byeongkwan/Park Junhee | Jun
Comments: 14
Kudos: 61





	1. Ocean Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Junkwan riiise~

Park Junhee had always been a mystery. The boy with the blue dyed hair who quietly sat in the back of the room and aced all of his classes except for music class in which — very much to the annoyance of their teacher — he never participated in singing even once. 

He seemed to not have any friends in school either. In many ways, he reminded Byeongkwan of himself but at the same time there was an energy surrounding him which intimidated Byeongkwan too much to ever really try to get close to him.

Instead they were secret allies. They both lived in the same neighbourhood by the small lake which was why they often walked to school together but despite that, they never really talked. At lunch, too, they ate together in silence —Byeongkwan occasionally rambling about whatever came to his mind — and school projects usually got handled over text messages. 

It was a weird alliance but Byeongkwan was glad about it. All of his friends went to the school in the other part of town and it was better to eat and walk in silence than alone. And yes, perhaps his heart did flutter a tiny bit whenever Junhee smiled at him as a greeting, his blue curls casting shadows over his beautiful face which glowed in the morning sun.

Park Junhee was a mystery and Byeongkwan had always been weirdly intrigued by everything that appeared unsolvable. 

Maybe that was what had made him give in a bit too fast, when his mother asked him to get some things at the convenient store. After all, it belonged to Junhee’s mother and the thought of seeing him on a Friday evening let Byeongkwan’s step bounce more than usual. He didn’t have a crush on Park Junhee… He just liked looking at pretty people’s faces… Everybody did, right?

A grocery bag swinging in his hand, he made his way down the street, greeting everybody he walked past. It was important to keep up a friendly image in a small town like this. People loved to talk and they cared too much about others’ private businesses. Well, nothing much ever happened here, so Byeongkwan couldn’t really blame them. He, too, tended to be a bit too curious for his own good sometimes. 

It was a nice late afternoon, the cold announcing the quickly approaching winter. Byeongkwan shivered at that thought, burying himself in his oversized, pink hoodie. He really should have brought a jacket but luckily the store wasn’t far away from his house. 

Finally, he reached it, walking through the door with a bright smile while the ancient bell announced his arrival. 

“Good evening!” 

The small woman behind the counter returned his smile warmly. “Good evening Byeongkwan. You seem to be in a very good mood today. Are you here to see Junhee?” Byeongkwan hastily shook his head, his cheeks heating up but he still couldn’t resist glancing around searchingly. Junhee was nowhere to be seen. Immediately his mood dampened. 

“No, no… I’m just here to get a couple of things for dinner...” 

“Ahh… Well, Junhee went out for a bit but if you wait, you might be able to see him too.” The color on Byeongkwan’s face darkened and he hastily disappeared in an aisle. Junhee probably wouldn’t be too happy about finding him here. Byeongkwan didn’t want to come off as if he was attempting to push himself into Junhee’s private life or even worse; as if he was interested in him. He didn’t have a crush on him! And they weren’t friends either… Not really. 

Slowly Byeongkwan walked through the small store, adding tomatoes and some new salt to his basket as well as sneaking in a chocolate bar. Hopefully his mother wouldn’t notice. Once he was done, he returned to Mrs. Park to pay, still not meeting her eyes as if she was able to read his thoughts otherwise. She scanned the items with careful, trained movements before helping him to put them into his bag. 

“You know...” She eventually spoke up, while taking out the change, “Junhee speaks about you quite a lot. I’m really glad he finally found a friend like you. It’s not easy for him usually...” Her words caught Byeongkwan by surprise and he finally met her gaze with wide eyes. 

“He… he talks about me?” It escaped his lips and Mrs. Park nodded, an amused expression on her face. 

“All the time. Byeongkwan showed me this cool game on his phone today… Byeongkwan held a really interesting presentation… It’s always Byeongkwan this and Byeongkwan that at dinner.” She laughed, it being full of fondness, while Byeongkwan couldn’t do anything else than stare at her in astonishment. “But you know how he is… Junhee just loves to talk.” This was news to him. Were they really talking about the same Park Junhee who hardly ever got out a word and seemed to be more invested in his books than whatever Byeongkwan was telling him? 

“Ahh… yeah...” He forced himself to laugh. “That’s just how he is.” They smiled at each other one last time, before he turned around and hastily left the store. What a strange conversation....

Still deep in thought, Byeongkwan unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a big bite while he went on his way home. The streets were calm and he could see the sun setting behind the trees around the lake. It was the beginning of winter so there shouldn’t be many people at the shore at this time of the day and before he could really think about it, Byeongkwan had taken the path down to the water instead of towards the main street. 

He didn’t feel like going through another round of greeting and talking to neighbours and the path along the lake would only take him a couple of minutes longer to get home than the main road. 

However, not much later, he realised a disadvantage this path brought along; the sun was setting and under the trees it was getting dark faster. He really didn’t like the dark and therefore Byeongkwan sped up his steps, exhaling relieved, when he finally reached the lake and found the path there to still be lighter. Then he looked up and gasped. 

Forgotten were all his concerns, once his eyes fell on the sunset mirroring in the water so that the lake looked like it was filled with liquid gold. It was beautiful and Byeongkwan stared at it in awe for a couple of seconds, before the noises of water splashing made him turn his head startled. Except for him, there was nobody on the path, but not far to his left, hidden by some bushes, he could make out a person that was currently wading into the lake. 

Byeongkwan frowned confused, curiosity leading him to walk closer. He knew that some people believed in cold water helping to strengthen their immune system but the thought of swimming despite a strong wind tousling his hair, made Byeongkwan hug his own body. Cold...

He stepped even closer, really not wanting to act like some kind of stalker but something about the person’s figure simply drew him in. It looked weirdly familiar and somewhere in his mind Byeongkwan had probably known all along who he was watching, even before he carefully peered around the bush and froze in surprise. 

Park Junhee was currently standing in the lake, the water reaching to his hip while he acted so casual about it as if it was noon on a hot summer day instead of the beginning of winter and evening at that. However, Byeongkwan didn’t have time to focus on that fact for much longer since his eyes got stuck on Junhee’s bare upper body, admiring the way his skin was glowing golden in the remaining sunlight, before that information finally reached his brain and he hastily closed his eyes.

What the hell was he doing right now? Hiding behind a bush and watching a half naked guy which he swore to not have a crush on but who’s appearance made his heart race unhealthy in his chest... Byeongkwan was seriously going insane and the best solution was to turn around and go home. That thought in mind and determined to do so, he moved his feet, his eyes still securely closed shut, only to halt and rip them open again in surprise, when he heard another loud splashing sound. 

Junhee was gone and the only evidence of his recent presence were circular waves on the water at the spot he had still been standing in, only some seconds ago. Byeongkwan blinked confused, not able to take his eyes off where Junhee had disappeared. 

Who dived into ice cold water? Swimming, sure, but diving? The seconds passed and the water surface turned calm again. No waves, no movements, no Junhee. 

The longer Byeongkwan waited for him to appear again, the more nervous he got. Had he simply lost track of time or was Junhee gone for much longer than most humans were able to hold their breaths? Sweat gathered in his palms and he wiped them on his jeans. 

The sudden fear that something had gone wrong and that Junhee was currently drowning while Byeongkwan just stood by and watched, pushed itself into his mind and his stomach turned itself upside down. Just why had he left his phone at home? He could neither check the time nor call for help. More time passed and the uneasy feeling turned into panic. 

He must have been waiting for at least five minutes now. As far as Byeongkwan knew, the world record of someone holding their breath was 11 minutes… But that person had been a trained professional… Junhee was a normal senior in school!

Before he could really think about it, Byeongkwan’s feet started moving, carrying him over the uneven ground towards the lakeshore where Junhee’s shoes and clothes lay. Hastily Byeongkwan kicked off his own shoes, not bothering to take off his hoodie before he stumbled into the water. 

Byeongkwan had known that it would be cold but that still didn’t prepare him for the pain. It felt like thousands of needles were piercing his skin, draining all warmth from his body and making his limbs go numb. He gasped loudly and for a second, reflexes took over, wanting him to get out of the water again as fast as possible but the fear for Junhee was stronger and as a result Byeongkwan forced himself to move further into the water, towards the spot where Junhee had disappeared. 

“Junhee!” He called, though he didn’t expect an answer. “Junhee! Help!” Nothing, only his own panicked voice echoing over the lake. 

He was a bit smaller than the other and therefore the water reached higher once he had finally made it to the right spot. By now his entire body was shivering but that didn’t keep him from searchingly running his hands through the water around him. The resistance slowed his movements but even after moving further into the lake, Byeongkwan couldn’t find anything; no limbs, no hair, no Junhee. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He exclaimed, running his hands through his hair while he turned around in a circle. 

Then, finally giving into his desperation, he took a deep breath and ducked his head into the cold water. While most of his body had already gotten used to the cold, his head once again felt like it was getting pierced by needles. It was just like taking a too big bite of a popsicle, whereupon one’s brain seemed to just freeze. 

It took all of Byeongkwan’s willpower to not immediately get his head out of the water again. It hurt and his body turned numb with every second but Junhee was still somewhere in there, perhaps already as good as dead. Byeongkwan forced his eyes to open, but it was already too dark to see much. All he could do was to dive deeper into the lake, ignoring all his fears that were knocking at the back of his mind. He prayed that he would eventually stumble upon Junhee’s body and that, when he finally did, the other would still be alive...

He tried again and again but it never took long, before Byeongkwan had to resurface to gasp for air. He didn’t know how much time had passed but slowly his desperation was turning into hopelessness. The chances to find Junhee alive became smaller and smaller with every second and Byeongkwan himself slowly felt how his own body turned tired and his limbs heavier. His head, too, was fuzzy by now and grasping clear thoughts became a nearly impossible task. Byeongkwan knew that if he didn’t leave the water now, he might never make it out alive again. 

“Just… one… last time...” He whispered to himself, his voice trembling because of the cold. One last try and then he would get out and run to find help. Byeongkwan took a shaking breath and another one, before dipping his head under water again.

Darkness and cold surrounded him… No Junhee. Instead it felt impossible to move, his limbs weighing too much. Byeongkwan knew that he needed to move, that the surface wasn’t far but he no longer was sure in which direction the surface was even located. He felt dizzy and everything around him was spinning while his lungs were burning in need of air. 

Sleep… Byeongkwan wanted to just rest for a second and he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. Everything in him urged him to take a breath but, though he felt tired and wanted to give in, there was a small part in him that kept him from doing so. However, that part got weaker and weaker...

Suddenly there was something grabbing his arm, Byeongkwan’s numb brain only vaguely noticing the touch, before arms wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him through the water. Soon, Byeongkwan’s head was breaking through the surface and he gasped, hungrily breathing in the cool air while his lungs were still aching.

Slowly, it taking him nearly all his remaining strength, he opened his eyes. He couldn’t see who was pulling him through the water and instead his blurry vision focused on the last bit of light in the distance. The sunset was nearly over, darkness taking its place. The next thing he noticed was his body getting dragged over stones until his back finally collided with hard but dry earth. 

“Shit, shit, shit!” A voice cursed and Byeongkwan found it to sound very familiar but his brain was still too dizzy to pair it with a face. Meanwhile, his saviour left his side, only to return, a couple of seconds later. Byeongkwan fought against the tiredness, blinking to clear his vision before he summoned up all the strength left in him to slightly move his head. He came face to face with blue, wet hair and wide, panicked eyes. He knew this face… He just couldn’t remember why or where from.

“Byeongkwan?” The boy whispered, his voice shaking. “I have… I have to take off your wet clothes… I’m sorry, it’s the only way.” Byeongkwan proceeded with blinking at him. Who was this guy? He was so occupied with trying to awaken his sleeping brain, that he didn’t complain when the other’s fingers began ghosting over his body, moving his limbs so that he could take off his wet, icy clothes. 

Who was he...? Slowly, very slowly Byeongkwan’s brain started working again. In the meantime, the boy helped him to sit up, rubbing Byeongkwan’s body dry with a towel before putting on a new shirt and pair of jeans. 

“What the hell were you doing out there?” He asked but all Byeongkwan could do was stare at him. He was stunning, though it was difficult to make out his face in the approaching darkness. In that moment, it finally hit him and his eyes widened. 

“Junhee?” He croaked and the other seemed relieved that Byeongkwan had been able to recognize him. He dried his own body off with the same towel he had used for Byeongkwan, before sitting down on it and stretching his arms out towards him. Byeongkwan stared at them in confusion, only now that the feeling returned to his limbs, noticing that his body was still trembling heavily. 

“Come here.” Junhee ordered and when Byeongkwan didn’t move, he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his body and pulling him against his chest. 

“What… what are you doing?” Byeongkwan wanted to know, his voice still sounding weak. Now that his brain was working better again, he realised just what kind of situation he was in. Not only had he nearly died, but the guy he had wanted to save from drowning, had ended up saving him instead, then removed and replaced all his clothes and was now cuddling with him somewhere in the darkness. Not to forget the most important fact; said guy was nobody else than Park Junhee and he wasn’t wearing anything besides bathing trunks. 

Yet, despite all that, Byeongkwan couldn’t bring himself to put distance between them. He didn’t know how it was possible but although Junhee must have spent even more time in the cold water than him and wasn’t wearing any dry clothes, his body still felt as warm as if he had just left his house, a couple of seconds ago. It helped Byeongkwan to stop trembling and warming up and, not being able to stop himself, he snuggled closer to the other, a content sigh escaping his mouth. 

They stayed like this for a while, Byeongkwan once again losing track of time, while Junhee carefully rubbed his shoulders and back to speed up the warming process. 

“Can you answer me one question?” He eventually asked and Byeongkwan hummed sleepily. “Why did you do that? Why did you decide to go for a swim in your clothes at the beginning of winter? Don’t you know how dangerous that is for humans?” Junhee sounded upset and his anger chased away Byeongkwan’s sleepiness. He frowned, light anger boiling in his stomach now, too.

“Swimming? Do you seriously think I did this for fun? I only went in there because I thought you drowned or something! I waited for so long but you didn’t resurface!” Junhee blinked at him. 

“You… You saw me? And you went in to save me?” Byeongkwan huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

“Yes… I would have never done it otherwise! I’m not stupid!” 

“Then why didn’t you call for help instead of getting yourself into danger like that?” Byeongkwan’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe how ungrateful Junhee acted. After all, Byeongkwan had nearly given his own life to save his.

“I left my phone at home! I was scared you would die, for god’s sake! What would you have done if you had been in my position, huh?” That shut Junhee up who bit on his lower lip. 

“I would have gone into the water, too...” He eventually whispered, Byeongkwan thanking their quiet surroundings that he even heard it. 

“See...” They looked at each other, the only noises being the small waves hitting the shore and Byeongkwan’s heartbeat drumming in his ears. Right now, he wasn’t so sure if he really didn’t have a crush on Park Junhee. Being close to him like this made his body tingle in ways that he could no longer entirely blame on the cold. 

Soft fingers found their way to his cheek, stroking some wet hair out of his face with gentle touches. A surprised gasp escaped Byeongkwan’s lips and he quickly pressed them together to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. God, was he glad that it was too dark to make out his burning cheeks. Or at least that was what he hoped for until he remembered that yes, Junhee probably couldn’t see them but he could still very much feel them. As if to confirm his thought, he spoke up, amusement resonating in his voice,

“Seems like you are warm enough now. We should better get you home. Your mother is probably worried and you need warmer clothes and a blanket.” Byeongkwan hummed in agreement, not trusting his voice while he unwillingly got some distance between them. Junhee removed his hands, too, and Byeongkwan immediately missed his warmth, the cold night air making him shiver again. 

“Come...” Junhee said, helping him up and then wrapping an arm around his shoulder to support him while they walked towards the path, collecting Byeongkwan’s shoes and bag on the way. “We should probably go to my mom’s store… It’s the closest and she can call your mother to pick you up.” 

Byeongkwan nodded weakly, heavily leaning on Junhee. He felt guilty about it but at the same time, walking had never felt this exhausting before. 

They had nearly reached Mrs. Park’s store, when he remembered an important question that he had wanted to ask,

“Junhee? How did you manage to hold your breath for so long under water? Or did I simply not see you? I’m pretty sure I would have seen you!” Junhee next to him stiffened and he didn’t reply until they were standing right in front of his mother’s store so that Byeongkwan already thought he wouldn’t get an answer. 

“I… I might tell you about it soon… But not today. You are too exhausted today.” Byeongkwan wanted to reply that he wasn’t tired and Junhee should just tell him now, but when he opened his mouth, the only thing he got out was a loud yawn. 

“Okay...” He gave in hesitantly, “But I won’t forget about it! I’ll definitely remind you!” That made Junhee chuckle and the sound warmed him better than any dry clothes ever could.

“I didn’t expect you not to… Not you, Byeongkwan.”

Byeongkwan thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night but the incident had exhausted him enough to knock him out as soon as his head hit his pillow. 


	2. Lavender Pink

The next day, Byeongkwan couldn’t wait to go and see Junhee but he didn’t even manage to leave his bed, before his mother showed up and forced him to sit back down.

“I’m not gonna let you leave this bed like that after you fell into the lake and nearly drowned yesterday! You need rest; the more the better.” Byeongkwan knew that any kind of resistance was useless and because of that he sulkily laid back down, thinking about whether he should text Junhee or not. He was sure that the other wouldn’t answer his question over the phone but that wasn’t why he had to keep his fingers from typing out one stupid message after the other. Byeongkwan simply wanted to find a reason to be close to Junhee again and that realization made him groan and bury his head in his pillow in frustration. 

There was no use in denying it any longer… He had a huge crush on Junhee. Apparently a pretty face, smart brain and interest in books was all what he needed to fall for someone because their conversation yesterday had definitely been the most they had ever talked to each other without hour long breaks in between. Park Junhee was still as mysterious as before...

Byeongkwan ended up throwing his phone next to himself, turning on his back to stare at the ceiling. How was he supposed to ever confess his feelings? Byeongkwan wasn’t usually a shy person but around Junhee he seemed to never say or do the right things, always embarrassing himself. It was frustrating, seriously! 

Suddenly the conversation with Mrs. Park came to his mind and he hastily sat up. Was it true? Did Junhee really talk about him all the time, though he never usually appeared interested in Byeongkwan in school? He couldn’t imagine it but why should Mrs. Park lie to him about something like that? His hand reached for his phone again, a new stupid message appearing in his mind, when a sudden knock on his door made him jump startled. He frowned. His mother usually didn’t bother to knock...

“Yes?” Considering the fact that his life had apparently turned into a movie recently, he should have probably expected it and still, his eyes widened in surprise when Junhee appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray with breakfast. Byeongkwan had never before wanted to put a bag on his head this badly...

Here he was; sitting in pajamas in his bed with its pink bed sheets, a scarf wrapped around his neck while his bed hair was sticking out into every direction from his head. He was the embodiment of miserableness while Junhee looked effortlessly beautiful… as always. 

“Sorry to disturb you like that… I came to see how you are doing and your mother told me you didn’t have breakfast yet.” Junhee smiled bashfully and it needed all of Byeongkwan’s body control to not hide under his blanket. 

“Th—Thank you...” He stammered instead and Junhee walked closer, setting down the tray on his nightstand, followed by him pouring some water into a glass and handing it to Byeongkwan. 

“Here.” He took it, nodding gratefully and then took a big sip. Drinking always helped to fill awkward silences. “How are you feeling?” Junhee looked sincerely worried and Byeongkwan didn’t really know how he should feel about that fact. 

“Good...” Another sip, while he thought about what to say next, “I was tired but now that I slept, I feel a lot better.” 

“That’s great.” He tried his best to return Junhee’s smile and then emptied his glass. Immediately Junhee was on the spot to replace it with a cracker. Byeongkwan looked at it unhappily. Crackers weren’t really the food that he was craving right now... 

“Not satisfied?” Junhee commented amused, of course not having missed that. 

“Crackers are so… plain...” Byeongkwan sighed and then took a bite of it anyway. Plain crackers were better than nothing and perhaps his mother would allow him to eat normal food for dinner again later. While he was eating, Junhee seemed to be watching his every move, not taking his eyes off him for even a second while he stiffly stood next to his bed and Byeongkwan could feel sweat dripping down his body. Whilst he had still nearly frozen to death yesterday, he was now burning hot as if he was sitting right next to a bonfire and he entirely blamed it on Junhee. 

“Why... Are you staring at me like that?” He wanted to know, once he couldn’t take it any longer. He felt the urge to push back his too warm blanket but he also didn’t want Junhee to see the embarrassing Sailor Moon pajamas that he was wearing and which were a relic from his early teenage years. Why throw out comfortable stuff? After all, Byeongkwan hadn’t expected Park Junhee to ever see him wearing them!

“I’m not staring at you.” Junhee lied, leading to Byeongkwan rolling his eyes. 

“Of course, you are! Why?” The other shrugged, still not taking his eyes off him. 

“I don’t know… I think I just want to make sure you are okay, I guess.” His answer made butterflies tingle inside Byeongkwan’s stomach but he could never admit that and therefore he just snorted.

“Well, I’m very much okay as you can see. Might be even better if you stopped staring at me like that...” 

“Sorry, I can’t...” Byeongkwan knitted his eyebrows in confusion, the cracker in his hand long forgotten.

“What is that supposed to mean? Why can’t you just... I don’t know, look at your phone instead of watching me eat?” Junhee blinked and then hesitantly pulled out his phone, staring at it without even pretending to unlock it. After a while he looked back up, his eyebrows wandering upwards. 

“Why aren’t you eating?” His bewildered tone made Byeongkwan huff and he finally shoved the rest of the cracker into his mouth, not bothering to swallow it before he said,

“You are really strange, do you know that?” Junhee only shrugged. 

“That’s what you think.” Byeongkwan didn’t really know what to reply to that and therefore he took a second cracker. Eating was perfect for filling awkward silences, too. Meanwhile, Junhee looked back down on his phone, this time actually unlocking it before he started scrolling through his gallery. Byeongkwan couldn’t see much from his place on the bed but when the other shifted, he spotted the picture of an underwater landscape. 

He frowned, only barely managing to keep himself from shaking his head. Just what about Junhee was it that fascinated him enough to turn him into a stalker? First Byeongkwan hoped to see him at the convention store, then he had watched him in the lake and now he was trying to catch glimpses of his phone. He was embarrassing himself!

“You okay?” Junhee’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and Byeongkwan realized that he had been staring at his cracker as if it had personally wronged him. Seriously… and he just had been the one to call Junhee strange... The latter probably saw a hypocrite in Byeongkwan now and he couldn’t even blame him.

“Yes, yes! I just—“ No lie came to his mind and therefore he decided to change the topic instead, “What was it that you didn’t want to tell me yesterday? The secret to you being able to hold your breath like that?” As soon as the question had left his mouth, Junhee stiffened, his jaw tensing while the knuckles of his hand with which he was still holding his phone, turned white. However, nearly immediately he relaxed again, a strained smile appearing on his face. 

“Ahh...” He laughed, but Byeongkwan couldn’t help but think that it sounded off, “To be honest, I really hoped you had already forgotten about that...” 

“I told you yesterday... I won’t forget until you tell me. My mom always says that I’m really stubborn.” Junhee cocked his head, suddenly a dangerous shimmering in his eyes. 

“You won’t forget? Does that mean I don’t have a choice but make you forget then?” Byeongkwan’s heart sped up and he couldn’t do anything about his body slightly leaning backwards. If another person would have asked him these questions, he would have probably laughed. It wasn’t easy to scare him but something about Junhee just felt like he was actually capable of secretly getting rid of him if he wanted to. 

“God, Byeongkwan, I’m only joking, I swear.” Junhee said, guilt clearly readable on his face. “I’m sorry...I didn’t know you get frightened so easily. I didn’t mean to scare you...” The tension in Byeongkwan’s shoulders disappeared and he took a deep breath. He hadn’t even noticed his eyes growing wide or the blood leaving his face only to return with double the amount now. 

“I… I wasn’t scared! Of course I knew that you were only joking!” He defended himself, a pout appearing on his lips. Junhee still seemed to feel bad about his joke and he pressed another cracker into his hand. 

“Here, eat...” But Byeongkwan eagerly shook his head. 

“No! You are trying to distract me but I won’t fall for that tactic! You promised me an answer!” Junhee sighed, running a hand through his blue curls before rubbing it over his face, slowly giving into his defeat. 

“Okay… you are right, I promised...So I owe you.” He gave Byeongkwan a sad, small smile, before he bent forward until their faces were on the same level. “Since you want to know, tell me... Are you ready to do something illegal?” Byeongkwan nearly choked on his own saliva at that seemingly random question and he stared at Junhee with wide eyes. He didn’t know him too well but an idea like that sounded weirdly out of character for him. Still, the thought of spending more time with the other was very intriguing...

“Something… illegal?” Junhee grinned and nodded, before he got back up. 

“Meet me tomorrow at 7pm in front of our school. Oh and bring spare clothes...” 

“Why...?” But the other only waved and winked mysteriously before he disappeared through the door.

* * *

  


It would be an understatement to say Byeongkwan was nervous the next day. He walked up and down his room, not able to sit still for even a second and his lips suffered quite some damage from him chewing on them too much. His mother seemed confused by his unusual behaviour but when she asked him about it, Byeongkwan said that he was too full of energy after having gotten forced to lay in bed the entire last day. That explanation seemed good enough for her and he was more than relieved about it. After all, he couldn’t have possibly told her the truth; that he was about to do something illegal for the very first time, his reason being the pressure of wanting to impress his crush. His mother would have definitely disowned and then grounded him on the spot. Not like she couldn’t still do that later, after she found out...

That thought in mind, Byeongkwan walked towards their school that evening, not being sure if Park Junhee was really worth risking to get arrested and punished for afterwards. Byeongkwan had thought about it a lot over the course of the day and eventually decided to listen to Junhee’s idea first and if necessary to just turn around and go back home. It probably would destroy his chances of ever dating him but not even Park Junhee could make him rob a bank...

By now he could spot the school entrance in the distance and he grabbed the straps of his pink Kirby backpack tighter, while he carefully walked closer. Though he was ten minutes early, Junhee was already waiting for him, his figure getting illuminated by a single lamp next to the main entrance. 

“Hey!” He called and Byeongkwan shyly raised his hand to wave at him, before speeding up his steps until he had reached him.

“Hey...” He greeted Junhee, hating how timid his voice sounded. Why couldn’t he just act confident as he usually did? The other smiled at him.

“You ready?” He turned around but Byeongkwan’s hand shot forward and grabbed his arm.

“Wait! Please...” His eyes looked at Junhee pleadingly, “I… I really want to go with you but my mom will kill me if she has to pick me up from the police station!” 

“The police station?” A frown had grown on Junhee’s face, before realization replaced it with an amused grin. “Byeongkwan… all we gonna do is breaking into the school building, so don’t worry about it.”

“Br—Breaking into the school?” Byeongkwan stared at their school and then Junhee in horror. “I’m sorry… If that’s the case then I’ll have to leave...” He was just about to turn around when Junhee’s laugh stopped him. 

“I’m just kidding! Byeongkwan... I would never put you in danger...” He gave Byeongkwan a look that once again turned his stomach into an ant colony and he sighed relieved. 

“So, we are not going into the school?” 

“Oh, we will... But I’ve got the keys.” Junhee proudly held up a bunch of keys, a wide grin on his face. Meanwhile, Byeongkwan’s mouth dropped open. 

“Did you steal them?!” 

“What?” Junhee’s grin turned into a pout, “Of course, not! I’m in the swim team... I asked for them so I could come and practice on my own...” Byeongkwan’s face grew hot and he had to resist the urge to bury his head in his hands. How to ruin a first date; assume your date is a criminal, when they really are just part of the swim team... To his defense, Junhee had never mentioned swimming before...

“Sorry...” He whispered, but Junhee only shook his head, looking very much amused. 

“You are really something, Kim Byeongkwan... Accusing a good student like this...” He chuckled and then turned around to unlock the door. 

“You were the one who said, we would do something illegal...” Byeongkwan mumbled sulkily, following Junhee who gestured to him to walk past him, before locking the door behind them again. Inside, familiar corridors waited for them but unlike whenever Byeongkwan wandered through them, they were empty and dark and without really noticing it, he pressed himself closer to Junhee. 

“Well...” The latter said, carefully guiding Byeongkwan through the darkness towards the school’s gym, “I’m allowed to be here but bringing you is technically illegal... At least if you actually care about the school rules.” Immediately, Byeongkwan stopped, staring at Junhee with a dumbfounded expression. 

“I do care about the school rules! What if someone sees us?!” 

“Don’t worry, I often go here on Sunday evenings. The school is usually empty at that time, besides we can just lie and say you are in the swim team too. My teammates do that all the time when they bring girls here...” Still not fully convinced, Byeongkwan eyed Junhee’s face which got illuminated by the moon shining through the windows. The silver light made it look as mysterious as Junhee always acted but in contrast to the coolness, his eyes were full of warmth and that was what made Byeongkwan nod hesitantly. 

“Okay… I trust you...” They looked at each other for a couple more seconds, something about Junhee making it impossible for Byeongkwan to unlock his gaze from him until he cleared his throat. 

“Let’s go… We shouldn’t get home too late...” He carefully put a hand on Byeongkwan’s arm, leaving it there until they eventually came to a halt in front of the door which Byeongkwan recognized as the entrance to the school’s pool. Again, Junhee fished out the keys to open it, before giving Byeongkwan a bright smile. 

“Welcome to my favorite place in this school.” He said, watching proudly how Byeongkwan looked around with wide eyes. He only ever had been here once, when his older brother had still been part of the school’s water polo team... That thought made him sigh. Just why was everybody around Byeongkwan so obsessed with water? 

“You don’t like it?” Junhee’s previous excitement got overshadowed by disappointment and Byeongkwan hastily shook his head. 

“No, no! It’s nice... I just...” He stopped, biting on his lower lip while he walked a bit closer to the water. It was dark, reminding him of the cold lake and if it wouldn’t have been for the moon that made some of it look like silver, Byeongkwan would have probably turned around so that he didn’t have to look at it any longer. He shuddered. 

“You...don’t like pools, huh?” Junhee asked from his spot by the door, his voice sounding teasing, and Byeongkwan shrugged without meeting his eyes. 

“I just try to stay away from them if possible...” He could hear Junhee move closer and then stop but he didn’t dare to look at him. The other had called the pool his favourite place and obviously hoped for Byeongkwan to feel the same way about it but now he had ruined the mood instead... A loud splashing sound brutally pulled him out of his miserable thoughts and he shot around, his heart racing in his chest. 

“Junhee?!” He called, his eyes searching for the other in the dark, rippling water. It was difficult to make out anything but not much later, Junhee’s brightly grinning face appeared in one of the light up parts of the pool. 

“C’mon! It’s fun!” He called, first waving and then splashing some water into Byeongkwan’s direction who watched him with a pout. 

“You startled me… Again!” His whine immediately made the grin disappear and Junhee slowly swam closer. 

“I’m sorry… I just can’t help it… It’s like the water calls for me...” His words sounded strange but Byeongkwan stepped even closer, holding his breath when Junhee’s head disappeared back in the water only to resurface right in front of him, some seconds later. He gave Byeongkwan a bashful smile, carefully reaching out a hand for him.

“Come… It’s really warm! Not like the lake at all.” Byeongkwan eyed Junhee’s hand, not really knowing what to do. One part of him wanted to join his crush, be close to him and have fun but at the same time... He gulped. 

“Actually… I’m not a really good swimmer… I don’t like water that much.” Byeongkwan admitted quietly and earned a surprised look from Junhee. 

“Really? And you still went into the lake?” He shrugged awkwardly, not meeting his eyes.

“Yeah well… I thought you were dying so I didn’t think much about it to be honest.”

“I’m sorry...” Junhee mumbled, “I’m just… I really appreciate what you did for me...” Finally Byeongkwan returned his stare, feeling his heart beating unnaturally fast. Was it only his imagination or did Junhee’s eyes seem to be glowing in the darkness? 

“If you decide to come in after all, just know that I promise to not leave your side. I’ll be right next to you the entire time and make sure that nothing can happen to you... I promise.” Byeongkwan thought about his words. The thought of entering the dark water scared him but at the same time there was so much trust inside of him and before he could overthink and decide against it, he nodded. 

“Okay...” His voice was quiet and far from confident but Junhee’s smile immediately helped him to calm down. 

“Okay.” He echoed his answer and then watched from his spot in the water how Byeongkwan took off his shoes, socks and hoodie, his body temperature increasing with every piece of clothing that he lost.

“Uhm… Would you mind turning around?” He asked, once there were only his jeans and a thin t-shirt left and Junhee hastily did. Byeongkwan neatly placed his jeans next to his other clothes and then walked towards the ladder which was leading into the water, testing the temperature with his foot first before, carefully sticking in the rest of his leg. Junhee hadn’t lied, it was indeed much warmer than the water of the lake. 

“Okay… You can look now.” He said, once he had reached the last step of the ladder. Junhee turned around and then quickly swam towards him, while Byeongkwan eyed the water doubtfully. He knew he should have asked Junhee to turn on the pool lights but he also knew that that would have increased the chances of them getting seen. 

“It’s all right.” Junhee assured him, stretching out his arms as if he wanted to catch a child. “The water isn’t too deep here so you can still stand.” Byeongkwan only nodded, taking a deep breath, before he let himself fall forward and into Junhee’s arms who looked surprised but caught him safely. 

“There you go!” He praised, not caring about the way Byeongkwan was clinging to him. “You are doing well, don’t worry.” Again, Byeongkwan only nodded, his too-fast breathing slowly calming down when Junhee began rubbing his back. He had never liked water much but the lake incident had apparently worsened his fear. 

They stayed like this for a while, Junhee holding Byeongkwan who was clinging to him like a koala bear until he felt ready to unlock his legs and arms, his face flushing hot at the realisation how small the gap between their faces was. 

“Sorry...” He croaked, whereupon Junhee shook his head. 

“Don’t apologise… What you are doing is incredibly brave.” Byeongkwan wasn’t so sure about that. Right now, he felt far from brave and he couldn’t help but question if this really had been a great idea. He had always imagined his first date to consist of eating ice cream or taking a walk… Not him facing his own fears.

“You better ask me out on a proper date after this...” He mumbled grumpily, his hand shooting to his mouth when he saw how Junhee’s eyes grew wide in surprise. Shit… He hadn’t meant to say this out loud. Byeongkwan was just about to apologise again, fearing that Junhee would let go of him and tell him they should better go home, when the other suddenly chucked softly.

“All right... Next time you can choose the location” He said before hesitantly adding, “for… for our date. If that’s what you want?” Byeongkwan stared at him, his close presence making his head spin while he tried to grasp a clear thought.  _ Our date _ ... Giddiness began tingling in his stomach, making him forget about the fact that he was still surrounded by dark water. The entire situation seemed surreal after all and for one second, Byeongkwan even considered all of this to just be a strange dream. At that thought, laughter escaped his lips.

“What’s so funny?” Junhee wanted to know, looking confused and a bit nervous. Once again, Byeongkwan hastily slapped a hand in front of his mouth. Idiot... Why had he let that slip out? Now Junhee probably thought he was making fun of him asking him out. 

“I... Nothing! Sorry, it’s just... I... I would really like that.” A tiny smirk grew on Junhee’s face. 

“Is it only the idea that you like or also me?” Heat rushed to Byeongkwan’s cheeks and he got some distance between them, before splashing water into Junhee’s direction. 

“I should have known that you must be full of yourself! Being born gorgeous and immediately acting all cocky.” He exclaimed, pretending to be offended. Junhee’s laughter filled the pool, followed by a wave hitting Byeongkwan’s face who gasped in surprise. “Hey!” 

“You splashed water at me first! Also, did you just call me gorgeous?” The other was still laughing and Byeongkwan realised that he couldn’t get enough of that sound. 

“Yes, but I also called you cocky...” 

“I can live with that.” They both had left the spot which was illuminated by the moon and because of that it was difficult to make out Junhee’s face but Byeongkwan could swear his eyes were still glowing while he was looking at him. It probably should have creeped him out but for some reason it only drew him back towards the other until Byeongkwan could see his face more clearly. Meanwhile, Junhee had fallen silent, watching his every move observantly.

“You eyes...” Byeongkwan eventually whispered hesitantly, “they are glowing.” 

“Does it scare you?” Junhee asked, his voice sounding calm but also as if he was nervous about Byeongkwan’s answer. The latter came even closer, taking another careful look before he slowly shook his head. 

“No... It’s just... weird? Not in a bad way! Your eyes are really pretty! But I didn’t know human eyes can glow in the dark?” At this, Junhee chuckled dryly.

“That’s because they can’t...” 

“Huh?” Byeongkwan frowned in confusion, trying to make sense of what Junhee was saying. What did he mean, human eyes couldn’t glow in the dark? Was he wearing some kind of fancy contact lenses then? 

“I promised you to tell you my secret as to why I was able to hold my breath for so long, right?” Byeongkwan blinked. He had nearly forgotten about that, having been too focused on everything else and the fact that Park Junhee had asked him on a date. Wait... Park Junhee had asked him on a date! The grin wanted to return to Byeongkwan’s face, his thoughts completely having been sidetracked by his crush once again, but before he was able to lift the corners of his mouth, Junhee’s next words made it drop open instead,

“The truth is... I’m a siren. Well, half-siren to be exact.” 

“You... What?” Byeongkwan stared at him dumbfounded, before he burst into laughter. “Wow... For a second you got me there...” Junhee smiled but for some reason it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I know it sounds crazy but it’s true.” He said, not showing any signs that he was joking. Still, Byeongkwan waited for a bit longer to see, if a “ _ Ha, got you!” _ was about to follow, only for his eyes to grow huge, when it didn’t happen.

“Wait... Really? You aren’t joking?” He got a nod as an answer and huffed in astonishment. “Wow...” 

“Yeah… My mother doesn’t talk much about it but from what I know, she fell in love with a siren and what came out of it was me. Her lover died... Apparently relationships between humans and sirens are ill fated but I think that’s bullshit...” Junhee carefully glanced at Byeongkwan who was listening to his story with an open mouth, 

“Well, anyway, thanks to my roots I got some nonhuman abilities. As you can see, my eyes tend to glow in the dark when I’m close to water, I can hold my breath for up to an hour and even though I love singing, I’m not allowed to do it around other people because for some reason it always makes them cry and they get weirdly clingy.” Byeongkwan still couldn’t do more than stare, his brain desperately trying to make sense of everything. His crush was a half-siren? Something like that really existed?

“It’s quite a lot to take in... I’m sorry...” Junhee mumbled, it somehow sounding defeated. “It’s probably better, if we head home.” He turned and wanted to swim towards the ladder, but Byeongkwan’s hand quickly shot forward to stop him. 

“Wait!” Junhee looked at him surprised, while Byeongkwan feverishly searched for the right words, only to not come up with anything smart in the end. Still, he didn’t want to leave the pool yet since he felt like that meant they would never go on that second date. And he couldn’t handle the thought of not spending more time with Junhee. So, he just decided to go with whatever sentence came to his mind first, 

“Can you... show me?” 

“Show you what?” Byeongkwan nervously began chewing on his lower lip.

“Your singing... I’d really love to hear you sing.” His words made Junhee frown.

“But it will make you cry... I don’t want to be the reason for your tears...” He got a shrug as a response. 

“I’ll try my best to keep them in, promise.” Then he gave Junhee his biggest puppy eyes. “Please...” In the way, the other sighed, he knew that he had won.

“Fine...” He mumbled, his eyes lowering onto where Byeongkwan’s hand was still holding his arm. Then he opened his mouth, letting the first sounds tumble out and everything around Byeongkwan became blurry. 

He had often asked himself, why Junhee never participated in music class and eventually just accepted the fact that the other probably felt self conscious about his voice. He had thought that maybe, Junhee simply wasn’t able to hold a single tone. After all, it wouldn’t be fair if someone as good looking and smart as Park Junhee could sing well too. There were limits to how much talent a human could hold. 

However, if what Junhee said was true, he wasn’t fully human and Byeongkwan had to realize that the unspoken rule about the limits of talent apparently didn’t apply to him. Because his voice didn’t only sound beautiful; no, it sounded celestial, like something not from this world, and Byeongkwan was sure that he had never heard anything comparable ever before.

Everything that wasn’t Junhee seemed to get smudged, while Byeongkwan listened to him with wide eyes. He had promised Junhee not to cry but soon he had to realize that he was powerless against his voice which stirred emotions deep inside of him. The first tears fell and Junhee immediately closed his mouth shut, giving his performance and abrupt ending. 

“I’m sorry...” He whispered into the arising silence, looking clearly upset. “I told you I’d make you cry...” Byeongkwan didn’t know when it had happened, but at some point while listening to Junhee, he must have swam closer and closer until the distance between them had gotten so small that Junhee could easily wipe away his tears. Well, at least he attempted to, but he only ended up adding more water from the pool to the wet mess on Byeongkwan’s cheeks. Not that the latter cared. He was still staring at Junhee, not able to take his eyes off him. If he hadn’t believed that he was a siren before, he definitely did now. No human owned a singing voice like that.

“Your voice it’s so... beautiful...” Byeongkwan finally managed to somehow get out. He was thankful that the darkness hid the way his cheeks were burning but despite him feeling pretty embarrassed about the entire situation, he couldn’t help but return the smile which formed on Junhee’s lips.

“I can’t believe you are so chill about this. I literally just told you that I’m not fully human and showed you how much power my voice can hold over you but you are still just smiling at me. I thought you’d run away or something...” Byeongkwan shrugged. 

“Well, first of all, I trust you not to use your crazy siren-powers against me and second, I didn’t secretly dream of you asking me out for ages, only to run away because of you having eyes that can glow. To be honest that shit is kind of cool!” That made Junhee laugh in relief. 

“Thanks, I guess.” He said, before taking Byeongkwan’s hands and putting them on his shoulders. “But now come. Time to go home.” Byeongkwan didn’t even try to hide the grin on his face, when Junhee pulled him through the water and towards the ladder, where he helped him to climb outside. He also didn’t mind them swapping hoodies so that Byeongkwan was wearing dark blue instead of his signature pink. Not to forget that his own hoodie looked great on Junhee, the pink color forming a nice contrast to his wet, blue curls. That sight alone was worth lending him his most precious piece of clothing. 

Careful to not leave behind any signs of their stay, they left the pool and walked towards the school entrance. The dark, empty hallways scared Byeongkwan a lot less than earlier but he still didn’t mind Junhee intertwining their fingers and pulling him a bit closer. 

“I’ve got one more question...” Byeongkwan eventually spoke up, after they had left the school building and were making their way towards his home. Even though it was barely half past eight, the light up streets were laying empty in front of them and different than usual, Byeongkwan enjoyed the quietness. It made him feel as if there was nothing other than him and Junhee right now; no worries and no too-curious neighbors. Only the two of them and their still intertwined hands, the touch sending a constant tingling up Byeongkwan’s right arm. 

Junhee gave him a curious look. “Sure... What is it?”

“You hair...” The other frowned, touching one of his curls as if he had forgotten they existed. 

“Yes? What about it?”

“Is that your natural color?” The sheepish smile that crept onto Junhee’s lips at Byeongkwan’s question nearly made him coo. How could someone who owned crazy siren super powers look this adorable?

“It is... It used to be a bit lighter when I was younger but my mother still always had to listen to people telling her that it’s not good to dye hair at a too young age.” He laughed. “Ahh... I remember her getting so annoyed sometimes. She eventually began dying it black until I turned 15.” Byeongkwan nodded. He believed to still remember having seen a dark-haired Junhee in class on his first day of school, after having moved to this part of town, around four years ago, whereupon he had been forced to transfer schools. It had made him angry back then but right now, he couldn’t help but think that it had perhaps happened for a reason. After all, he probably wouldn’t have met Junhee otherwise. 

Not much later, they reached Byeongkwan’s house and the latter stopped, looking at Junhee with a pout. 

“Do you really have to leave already? I don’t want to let go of your hand...” His honesty turned the tip of Junhee’s nose pink, making him look a bit like Rudolf the Reindeer. 

“It’s pretty late already and we have school tomorrow...” He mumbled, before adding, “Maybe we can hang out after school, though?” 

“Yes!” Byeongkwan exclaimed, beaming at him. “But no swimming! There can’t be any water involved except frozen kind. Let’s get ice cream tomorrow.” 

“Deal.” Junhee agreed and then awkwardly stepped closer. “Uhh... Hug?” When Byeongkwan nodded, he let go of his hand and carefully wrapped his arms around his back, pulling him close. Byeongkwan couldn’t help but hold his breath, while his heart began racing. It took him a second until he was brave enough to return the hug and rest his head against Junhee’s chest, hearing his fast heartbeat mirroring his own. 

“It was really nice to spend time with you. I’m grateful you overcame your fears for me and I’m also really grateful you didn’t run away from me...” 

“I’d rather run towards you than away... It’s much more fun, though I have to admit it's also a bit scary.” Junhee chuckled, catching Byeongkwan off guard by gently running a hand through his hair. 

“You are really brave, Kim Byeongkwan... Do you know that?” 

No, he hadn’t known that but hearing it out of Junhee’s mouth made him think that maybe, just maybe, he was right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end haha
> 
> I might add some bonus chaps if I feel like writing more so keep your eyes open^^
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this fic and if you did, I'd be super happy if you could leave some feedback in the comments or on my Twitter (@babbl1ng) and give this fic a kudo <3
> 
> Take care and see you soon~

**Author's Note:**

> (To be continued...)
> 
> This fic got inspired by [@5tar_light](https://twitter.com/5tar_light)'s beautiful drawings. You should definitely check them out! Click [here](https://twitter.com/5tar_light/status/1294272815642710016?s=20) (for a beautiful drawing of Bluehee) and [here](https://twitter.com/5tar_light/status/1292903485738975232?s=20) (for Kirby Kwannie) uwu
> 
> By the way I wrote this before the teaser pics for Goblin came out (yk the underwater Junchan pics) so it's a huge coincidence hahah I still wanted to keep Junkwan as a pairing tho instead of changing them to Junchan.
> 
> I really hope you liked part one so far and as always, some feedback and kudos would make me really happy! Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me, no matter if in the comments or on my Twitter ([@babbl1ng](https://twitter.com/Babbl1ng)) :")
> 
> See you soon~ Take care~


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